Ivory Coast: Ouattara troops prepare for push to control Abidjan

Ouattara's Republican Forces of Ivory Coast say they are well prepared for a
counter-attack by troops loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

4:21PM BST 10 Apr 2011

The violence in the capital's diplomatic quarter came as Mr Gbagbo's forces retook ground across the city, putting themselves within striking distance of the Golf Hotel, the luxury lagoonside residence of his rival for power, Alassane Ouattara.

Last week, after days of attempting to remove Mr Gbagbo from his bunker by force, Mr Ouattara said he had ordered a cordon to be thrown up around it and for Mr Gbagbo to be left unil he ran out of food.

The UN has upped its air presence in the Ivory Coast as a result, with French Puma transport helicopters and Ukranian MI24 gunships travelling back and forth between the city and the base.

A week of fighting has turned Abidjan - long known as the 'Paris of West Africa' - into a war zone, with frequent power cuts and hospitals overwhelmed with wounded. Aid workers estimate 1 million people have been displaced by the fighting, and some 150,000 people have fled the country.